Despite the upswing in sales orders, the region's revenue still dipped 3 percent to
$1.9 billion because of the six to eight-month lag between sales orders and
revenue, said Cheah.
In Southeast Asia, most major markets grew in the first half of this fiscal year.
Sales orders grew to $444.9 million, a 14 percent increase over the same
period last year.

Singapore grew 15 percent, Thailand 34 percent, the Philippines 34 percent, and
Indonesia 91 percent. The exception was Malaysia which declined 17 percent
because of the imposition of capital controls.